This invention relates generally to electric vacuum cleaners. More particularly, the present invention is directed to an improved bag securing and tensioning system for such a vacuum cleaner.
The present invention is specifically directed to the provision of a bag securing and tensioning system for an upright vacuum cleaner, i.e. a vacuum cleaner of the type that has a floor engaging base unit with wheels, a generally vertically extending handle pivotally mounted on the base unit and a bag preferably held by the handle for collecting dirt.
It is known to suspend a fabric dirt collecting bag from the handle of an upright vacuum cleaner by a connection element such as a coil spring which is mounted in an exposed location on the exterior of the cleaner. However, such exposed coil springs detract from the appearance of the cleaner and are prone to damage. In addition, exposed coil springs are prone to become entangled with household objects, such as tablecloths, drapes, electric cords or the like with the consequent likelihood of injury not only to the household objects but, as mentioned, to the coil spring itself. Similarly, it is known to provide other connection elements such as extendable cords or the like which are also exposed on the exterior of the handle of the cleaner.
There is known a resilient bag suspension arrangement for an upright vacuum cleaner's handle in which a coil spring provides resiliency to the bag support. Much of the bag supporting structure is arranged within the fabric bag of the vacuum cleaner and enclosed with a recessed cover. However, this construction is disadvantageous because of its bulky size. This construction is also relatively expensive. It is also known to provide a resilient suspension system in the form of a strip of synthetic rubber that is secured at one end to a handle of the vacuum cleaner and, at the other end, to a cross brace member that holds an upper end of the vacuum cleaner cloth bag. However, such bag suspension systems are not easy to remove when that is considered necessary as a cover plate held on by fasteners first needs to be removed in order to allow access to the resilient material strip.
Also known is an upright vacuum cleaner having a bag retainer made of a flexible plastic material. One end of the bag retainer is secured to the upper end of a cloth bag with the other end of the bag retainer being affixed to the lower end of a coil spring mounted in the hollow handle of the vacuum cleaner. This arrangement, however, is subject to its own disadvantages.
Accordingly, it has been considered desirable to develop a new and improved bag support system for upright vacuum cleaners which would overcome the foregoing difficulties and others while providing better and more advantageous overall results.